It`s been a while since I last blogged. So many good things have happened the past year. The Lord has been so faithful and even that is an understatement! He`s been so good and loving and I feel very grateful. From my injury that`s healed now, to opportunities He gave, He`s always been there guiding and teaching, blessing and purifying my heart. And even through tough times, He was there to comfort and strengthen and save when I couldn`t go on any longer.

I guess last year, God spoke to my heart through experiences… My motives were revealed, heart issues were made to come out and it`s so comforting now looking back because I knew the the Lord is more concerned about my heart more than I’ve ever imagined. And He wants to change me into the person He wants me to be, looking more and more like His Son Jesus.:)

So I`ll take this opportunity to share with you some of the things I’m so thankful for last year which I wasn`t able to share. :) Hope you`re also doing good. Really missed you, guys!

Last year, I got the opportunity to serve at the Korean Cultural Center. Helped out with their print designs, taught in culture classes, and went out to culture caravans in public schools around the city. It was so fun and I learned a lot of things. It’s always nice to learn about new culture and meet a lot of new friends.

I wrote on my application paper that I hope I’d love the Philippines more as I explore and learn more about Korean culture. And it really did happen. During my stay in KCC, as I watched and enjoyed Korean culture and watch Koreans love their culture, I loved and appreciated my heritage more. I felt proud about my own people and  prayed that someday, I would also be able to contribute something for the Philippines.

Youth Ministry last year has been so much fun! When we started the year, our college students were just new in church and now almost all of them are serving in different ministries. It’s amazing how the Lord is working in the lives and I pray they’d love and seek Jesus more!

It’s 1am and my day is just ending. For the past couple of months, things had been like this. Waking up early and off to bed really late. And many, many times I feel like the day is not enough to finish all the things that need to get done.



Do you sometimes also feel like this? When there are so much stuff to do, so much lessons to study, so much tasks to accomplish?

When this times come, I remember this little quote from Twitter I saw a couple of months ago. It really is simple but has been very instrumental in reminding me to make the most out of every moment and really enjoy every single day (every task, every single second), as it comes.

Let us all decide to enjoy life and see the beauty of every day--because sometimes, we just don't notice...but Jesus...that is Jesus always there. And so we should rejoice in Him always. 

FOR TODAY

Outside my window

No trace of the big storm last week. Pretty much enjoying sunshine!

I am thinking

about last night`s sweet victory. Ava won in the pageant! So happy!

Proud `cause you really don`t have to show skin to win.

I am thankful for

love, hope and happiness.

From the learning rooms

Korean! I printed my lessons before the storm came so that`s what kept me busy when the electricity was gone last week.  Language-learning is really challenging, but I`m enjoying the difficulty.

From the kitchen

Ava made embotido {Filipino-style meatloaf that`s steamed before fried, made with ground pork, raisins, carrots and onions}

I am wearing

Pyjamas! We woke up late. Got home a 4am this morning. The pageant ended at 2am. Papa is still asleep. It`s 12nn!

I am going

to go to sleep again in a while.

I am reading

articles on Incourage. I`ll be featured there next month! Yey! I`ll let you know when the post is up!

I am hoping

to have time to go to the dentist this week. It`s been a while since my last visit.

I am hearing

a program on the local Christian radio program. {Hey, did you know LJ Salceda is leaving FEBC `cause she`s gonna get married in the US? So sad to hear. She`s been doing broadcast for years. I was listening to her since High School…}

Around the house

Our house is pretty cluttered. Everyone`s so tired and sleepy.

One of my favorite things

is herb toasted bread! Yummy!

A few plans for the rest of the week

Go to the bank `cause they`re asking me a penalty for my dormant account (the one I had back in high school and college). They`re charging P200 every month until I get it active again. Too much!

From My Picture Journal

My Nursery Graduation picture. Look at my classmates! I wonder why we`re all confused in these photos! I`m the one in front with short hair and pink headband.

Photo Credits: yanilavigne

and chloefranch on Tumblr

and PanlasangPinoy.com

You must have heard that I`ve got two sisters. Yup, that`s me plus two lovely, younger sisters (they`re both taller than me…) and no boys. And as you can imagine when three girls come together, you can never predict what happens next.

Last week, after church, all three of us went to the mall to buy clothes for Ava and to get some things from the drugstore. We went to McDonalds to have snacks afterwards…

And while waiting for Viola to come back with food from the counter, my sister Ava, who`s the most business-minded of us three, inquires of my money-spending that day.

Look at her expression! Sooo funny! You should have heard her voice when she said those words in the speech balloons!

I love Ava and how she works as my financial adviser! haha And how she makes me laugh everytime. {The bottle was covered in a plastic wrap that feels crunchy when you squeeze it. I tore it all up to show there were no seeds. She still thought there were seeds. I opened the bottle, right there at McDonalds, so she would believe.}

Ava is funny! So how could I live without my sisters?

How about you? You have a sister too? Or a brother? What do you love about him or her?

PS. Both of my sis left for the National Youth Prayer Gathering this morning and I showed Ava the photos before they head out the door. She said she doesn`t look good here, but laughed even thought and said it`s okay to post. So that`s why I posted it away. She really doesn`t care about image or anything. haha

~FOR TODAY~

Outside My Window...

It`s 2am. I`m afraid to look outside. haha Last night, it was raining and the ground is wet, the plants look hydrated and healthy like ladies when they get a good night sleep. It`s really like June now. Oh, it started to rain so hard again!

I am thinking

about going to be after this to get my own beauty rest. 

I am thankful for

Dreams and very encouraging parents and sisters. They push me well and hard, I`m going for my secret dreams now!

I really like hotel bathroom slippers. Not the fluffy, rabbit kind of slippers you get on Disneyland. Just the thin, paper-weight slips you find along with your bathrobe when you check into a hotel. Those white, neat things that make you feel like walking on a cloud barefoot. Oh, they`re the loveliest things for me! They`re comfy and light and warm just enough that you`d love to walk around them forever (I actually wouldn`t be surprised if these are hotel mogul`s secret to getting super rich! haha).

I actually have a pair of them back home right now. No, I didn`t bring one myself!   They were given to me as gift {BTW, did you know hotels are actually selling them in their gift shops? I actually didn`t know that.}. And I love walking around with them! Never mind  the cutest, fluffiest Hello-Kitty or Mickey Mouse slips from Disneyland. I love my comfy hotel slippers like crazy!

Now, I just thought about that ol` famous quote that says “The best things in life are free.” Not just because you don`t have to pay for them but because the best things in life, thanks to the grace of God, actually come free of charge! Like my youth group`s laughter, and mom`s amazing cooking… My sisters miraculously volunteering to help me with my laundry… Dad offering me a ride to work. These are the best things! And I wouldn`t mind getting all of these beautiful freebies forever!

Sometimes, we look for grand things to be happy and we miss those amazing stuff--and times-- God gives us for free.

A year ago, I was working full-time as a video editor and I was so consumed with work that I was like living in the office ( I work 10-12 [sometimes more] hours a day) and everything around me where buildings and cars and there were no traces of sunrise or sunsets or luscious green gardens. I thought I would go crazy.

So the other day, on my way to home from work, I was so happy watching the sun setting down. I was smitten with those golden orange and purple colors painted across the sky. They were totally magnificent. And I really thank the Lord because not only that  sunset is free and we don`t have to pay to watch it, but that now I finally have the time to actually stare at it as long as I want.

Like the sun that sets on the west every single day, God`s little blessings are also always present and renewed everyday. God`s little  surprises, they were always there. Sometimes, sadly,  we are the ones who aren`t present to witness them.

How many sunsets have I missed this year? I don`t know. 364, I guess.  I was the one who didn`t open my eyes. They had always been there. I just needed to look outside, open my eyes and see. And then I`d fun God`s sweet gift to me… the answer to the what I`ve been praying about for so long.

How about you? What free stuff do you love in life? What are those that have you missed the past week, month or year? Do you also like sunsets or hotel slippers?

Outside my window.....

It`s starting to get dark. Daylight lasts a bit longer now that it`s summer. Mom`s bougainvilleas still have baby sprouts. I wonder if it`ll take them till May to bloom. But I love the sun and how bright it is outside.

I am thinking.....

Of how faithful God is. Flowers are blooming in my heart.

I am thankful for.....

A delightful opportunity to cook for my cousins. The guys were here at home just a while ago. We`ve been planning for the Grand Family Reunion on monday.

From the kitchen.....

We finished everything already! What remains is a fridge full of chicken waiting to be cooked…and a lot of coffee.

I am wearing.....

A dotted-blue mini-skirt, black hooded tee and my favorite hotel room slippers! I feel like the girls in Korean movies.

I am going....

to write for the Faith Barista Jam today.

I am hearing....

plates from the kitchen. My sister Ava is washing a lot of `em!

Around the house.....

Mom has fallen asleep on the sofa. Guitar and Ava`s chord charts still on the couch. Snacks still everywhere. The dogs, I think, are asleep. ;)

I am reading.....

A sample chapter of Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. I`ve really been wanting to read that but they`re always sold out on bookstores every time. Makes me cry! And Korean lessons.

I am hoping.....

to have an awesome time at the reunion next week. I wish everyone will be able to come. This is our first grand reunion ever. To see more flowers bloom. To have many day trips and enjoy summer outdoors. To have ice cream over the weekend!

Quote I like today:

“How many of us get kicked out of pulpits, street corners or church meetings for our preaching? The cross is offensive, Jesus was a revolutionary, he was either loved or hated.”-Jaeson Ma

Photos I loved today:

Photo credits: Akenisa on Flickr

and via –peachrose on Tumblr.

I went outside this afternoon to look at the clouds. Our backyard looks much greener now. Summer has come really fast this year. The purple haze and thick, green mango trees…they were sweet surprises to me today. Surprises because I didn`t realize they were already there and now they warmed my heart. Surprises because they brought me to tears just now.

Oh, how I love spending time with my Father. In the midst of all He has made. How I miss lying on the grass, listening to the music He whispers to my heart. In the middle of all the majesty and beauty of the things He created, I feel secure and warm. I feel His arms wrapped around me. I feel Him so close, so near me.

The clouds and the leaves and the wind…they show me who I am in my Father`s eyes. They remind me that as insignificant as I seem (in my eyes sometimes), I am always, always valued by Him.

Yes, the God who made all these marvelous things would care and love me… and believe that I am worth saving.

Knowing that, my heart finds rest.

My heart had always been fond of staring at endless rice fields. I now understand why. Why I long for camping out in the mountains… Why I look at the stars and my heart feels warm.  Now I know why I had always loved sitting beneath the trees every single time I feel alone and miss my Lord.

It is in nature… In adventure… In the quietness of creation. In feeling the wind on my cheeks and the dust beneath my feet--it is there where I find rest and comfort for my soul. It is where I feel His presence the most.

It is in nature that I find Him, my King, singing to me.

In the midst of all the beautiful things God has made, it there where I clearly remember my worth and see before my eyes that my God is big and His love is so immeasurable.

^28-30When life is heavy and hard to take,
   go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions:
   Wait for hope to appear.
Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face.
   The "worst" is never the worst.

^31-33Why? Because the Master won't ever
   walk out and fail to return…

Lamentations 3:28-31

I`d been away for a full week—again—and it feels it`s been so long. As I mentioned in my previous posts, I hadn`t been feeling so well and so took the time the rest. No work. No online activity. Just at home sleeping and enjoying my days.

It`s really been a good week! I had no connection with the `outside world` but enjoyed soooo much! Thank God my fever went away faster than I expected. And although I had terrible tummy aches for the past two days, I feel so blessed because my Dad got up from bed the other night (at midnight!) just to pray for me, and that was just cool! Really had a great time with my family. God made me to rest so I can see the really things that matter after all.

It feels good that I can still spend time with my younger sisters and my Mom.  Just like how we used to. My sister Ava and I got a really good time talking about everything. Our Mom often caught us laughing at 2am! And last night, Viola, Mom and I talked about things that made me cry.

And I`m so much loving what I have in life now. Even if people don`t seem to understand. Even if my friends feel quite concerned about me not being so career-driven. I used to be so much concerned about my future and my future alone. But God had taught me that having a good career is worthless if that`s the only thing you pursue and you`re not really living your life. I cannot live the same way I used to—setting huge goals for myself and focusing my eyes on it alone while missing my fellowship with the Lord and with my family and friends. I don`t want to live like how the rest of the world does. I don`t want to live in an endless pursuit for position, money and fame. I`ve been there and I don`t want it anymore. What I want is to enjoy my walk with the Lord first of all, my family second, my ministry and then my career. I just want to live a quiet and simple life. I want to be happy from deep within and not set my happiness on what I can achieve in the world.

At the end of the day, I wouldn`t be regretful about anything. And everything would have meaning. I haven`t wasted my life at all.

I have a terrible cold today. Feeling feverish so I wasn`t able to finish my work due this morning. Really tried my best to wrap it all up before my 7am deadline, but no matter how much you “will” it, if your body isn`t cooperating, it just wouldn`t work.

I`m starting to understand what rest is really all about. It`s not enough that you just have to get a good sleep after a long tiring day at work. Rest is actually a responsibility, a duty, a part of life that we have to enjoy and put on our priority list. It`s goes on the same rack as our dreams, hopes, our prayer life… God has designed rest to be one of the beautiful things we can look forward to and we should give time to. Something significant and enjoying at the same time.

Today, as I rest ( I feel bad I only got to stop and put things down when I got this cold and felt that I`m not doing well physically), I`m gonna think about pretty things and just enjoy the Lord and the things He does for me. Rest, rest, rest! ;)

He will once again fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.  Job 8:21 NLT

Here`s my list of God`s gifts this week:

126. Awesome, awesome anniv party in church yesterday! It was amazing to think the God had been faithful for 10 years. I`ve only got to witness only 2 of those years yet (Papa officially became the local pastor in 2009) and I can`t wait to see more!

127. The sweet love pouring out in the hearts of everyone in JCOB. I feel that I can touch, hear, smell, see…and taste (the mommies really cook so well!) in church now.

128. Cute and awesome performance of the young people in our version of the Lifehouse skit. I love how they`ve improved in such a short time.

129. Discounts we got when having materials printed out.

130. Delicious, delicious puto (rice cakes) of every kind and Nanay Josephina`s laing. Really made my day!
131. Sam`s testimony that really made me cry.

132. Celine and I met again on Sunday after 5 years! She was a friend back in college and it`s so cool to see her again!

133. Mom and Ava who tidied things up in my closet. I was surprised to find it clean this morning.

134. For sweet, sweet people from JCOB Cavite who traveled long hours just to visit us.

135. For really great friendships in church. My heart is really full of love, love, love.

Thank you, Lord for such sweet things you bring in life. They may not seem grand to many people but you fill my heart with love and that is soooo enough. I`m so blessed with all the people surrounding me today. Everyone`s such a blessing!